Bounties
by Master Edge 2
Summary: The ghosts of his past fled across the ocean, and the bounty hunter inadvertently followed. For time flows like a hard wind, carrying the debris of events and tragedies like leaves. Even as he stood in a quiet town with a well paying job, he couldn't escape fates web. The man he and his partner hunted was a plague taken human form, the kind of man Reiner wanted.


****Hey, guys. I took a short break from writing ******__**The Sustenance of Legends**__****** in order to try something different. I was listening to the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, and this idea came to me with enough vigor for me to stop everything I was doing and write this.****

****Not sure where the story will go, the outline's looking pretty thin.****

****I hope you find it fun to read, because I sure as hell had fun writing it.****

* * *

The bounty hunter shook his head and reached into chest pocket of his shirt, producing a carton of cigarettes. He tapped the bottom of the carton on his forearm, popping out a single stick of tobacco. There was a moment when he looked up to the street from his lower position on the dock, feeling the summer-time sun cast its warmth on him from the east, he put the carton back, and pulled out a lighter from the same pocket. He closed his eyes as he inhaled, lighting the soothing stick in his mouth. The smoke that flew out of his mouth seemed like a mist in the summer day, a fair undulation into the air of the small frontier city that the two bounty hunters had found themselves in.

His dark eyes scanned the scene as they walked down the dock, seeing the many workers loading and unloading goods, most of which hadn't a penny to their name, but that was how it was in the frontier. Work not for the low pay, but to help the city as a whole. Life was hard in Johto, and everyone needed to do their part.

To his side was his partner, a mountain of a man. Two hundred and twenty pounds of muscle carried the greatest man Reiner ever met. Rits scanned the scene as well, picking up the small details that Reiner would never even think of. He was a great partner to have, strong, intelligent, and far less reckless than himself.

Reiner took another long drag of his cigarette before he tossed it into the ocean, paying no mind to the wingull that inspected the foreign item. Traveling a month between continents was enough time to become sick of the less than hygienic species. Their curious calls fell behind them as the two walked up the steps with a liquid grace, and a passive coolness.

They reached the top of the steps and stopped, eyeing an interesting welcome to the city of Cherrygrove. Before them was a large and expansive construction zone. A large pit had been squared and filled with concrete, leaving many canals carved into it to serve as hallways when the building would be complete. Planted within the four corners of the foundation, were large wooden pillars that protruded well above the roofs of the neighbouring buildings.

"Uh," the shorter and skinnier man muttered, placing a toothpick in his mouth as a distraction from another frequent craving. "What exactly am I looking at, Rits?"

The larger bounty hunter stood with his muscular arms crossed. With a grin he chuckled. "Really, Reiner I expected you to do some research. This is going to be Cherrygrove's gym. People out here aren't fully defended with the current layout. Violet City is a three day travel from here. So Violet's gym leader, Agustus, commissioned a new gym to be built and run by his son," he said in a gruff, but genial tone.

"Hm," Reiner responded, slouched and drained of any energy or enthusiasm. "That's something," he passed off. "Any jobs in this town?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rits sighed. "Did you not read the bounty letter?"

Reiner shrugged, patting the revolver on his hip. "I was too busy rounding up the bounties on that ship," he said with a smile.

"And a lot of good that did us!" Rits snapped, turning to the other bounty hunter. "All of that money we made went to repairing the damage you caused."

"Hey, I wasn't about to let a fifty thousand dollar reward jump into Beual Bay!" Reiner retorted, turning fully to Rits and scanning the dark lines on his rugged face.

"If you just let me and Mach do the work then we would have come to this job richer than when we left Lilycove! But instead you decided to let Dozer run through the ship's walls. You're lucky no one was killed!"

Reiner's features darkened, and his brow furrowed. "If I hadn't then that ship would be at the bottom of the lake," he said.

Rits blinked at him for a moment, uncomfortably fidgeting with his black blazer. "Well, sure, but..." he stuttered. "We had a plan."

Reiner straightened his posture. "And that plan would have worked if he didn't have a Saffron Gym member watching his back."

"Yeah... damn psychics," the towering man replied somberly. He cleared his throat. "In any case, our target is Geuro Ameri. He's been known to extort local businesses for protection, then kill the owners once he gets the money. He then posts one of his executives as the new owner."

The smaller man glanced over the too-be gym, and tightened his mouth around the toothpick. He reached under his brown trench coat, his hand moving past his three pokeballs, and produced a map of Cherrygrove. "Any idea where his latest exploit was?"

Rits shook his head, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans before beginning to walk down the street. "Can't say for sure, but a quick perusal should give us a good place to start. He hasn't been caught because he's careful, the information we have came from an anonymous tip."

"Since when were we cops?" Reiner asked himself quietly. He closed his eyes and placed his hands behind his head, stretching his toned muscles. "I'll take the bars, and you take the Pokemon Center and town barracks," he said as he ran his hand through his curly blond hair.

Rits smirked, scanning the faces of the people they passed. "As usual, but this time don't get drunk or destroy the place if you find trouble. Just give me a holler on the phone if..." he trailed off, groaning in frustration. He dug his fingers into his bald head, gritting his teeth. "Legendaries be damned! There are no phone lines out here, are there?"

"Nope," Reiner replied with a cocky smirk. "I'm not sure they bothered with that yet. I think they just got the hang of computers out here," he jested as he reopened the folded map. His eyes scanned the paper, a content look on his face becoming present. "There __is__ a radio tower, so we can use our two-ways."

Rits grumbled. "It'll have to do. Get the latest scoop, and radio me if you find anything of interest."

Waving his hand over his forehead in a sarcastic but smooth salute, Reiner turned onto one of the streets that led away from the waters. "I'll stay sober, don't worry," he said with a smile as he placed another cigarette into his mouth.

SC

The bar was sparsely populated in the mid afternoon hours, only hosting the people with a particular fervor about alcohol. The wooden building hosted a network of tables and chairs, a few sporting individuals with their heads rested on the table, or groups of loud men laughing or arguing.

The front door flew open, and the silhouette of Reiner stood against the light that filtered into the otherwise bleak and smokey establishment. Many heads turned to the sudden ring of the bell and the creaking of the rusty hinges.

Pausing to take only a moment of perspective to the new environment, Reiner stepped fully into the bar, concealing his revolver and his pokeballs under his trench coat.

His boots lightly tapped against the wooden floor as he crossed the bar, ignoring the peering eyes of the few patrons, and sat at the counter. He leaned forward to garner the attention of the small eyed man which was hitherto washing a glass.

"What can I get for ya'?" the old man asked, his smile exposing many lost teeth.

"How are your brave birds?" Reiner asked as he tapped a three dollar coin on the counter.

The bartender's smile grew large, turning and grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the bar. "You're in luck, fella. Just got a shipment of milk from the pastures of Goldenrod."

Reiner smiled, his brown eyes flashing with interest. "Glad to hear it. No ice, please."

The bartender got to work mixing the drink, and slid the eight ounce cup down the bar towards the bounty hunter. He was thanked with a nod before his customer downed the drink all at once, sighing with satisfaction as he placed the empty glass onto the counter.

"Another one?" the bartender asked eagerly.

Reiner shook his head, waving his hand politely to the bartender before sliding the coin down the counter. "Better not. I'm working," he said. He peeked over his shoulder, catching a few glances in his direction. "By the way, what do you know of local businesses going under new management in this town?"

The bartender's smile faded and his eyes narrowed under his glasses. His narrow face wrinkled with an almost toothless grimace. "'Fraid I don't know nothin' about that, son," he said as he fished a cloth from under his counter.

"Hm." Reiner sounded as he closed his eyes and felt the warm buzz settle in from his drink. "Word is the town's being taken over. I'd be careful if I were you," he said as he stood and turned from the bar. "I wouldn't want to see a nice guy like you fall for the-" He cut short and took a slow breath as he noticed three men stand, their hands moving for objects under the table and on their belts. "- sharpedos..."

With a sudden turn of atmosphere, the smallest of the men produced a flintlock pistol, aiming it squarely at Reiner's mass. With a squeeze of the trigger, the hammer impacted the fission and sparked the gunpowder, sending the bullet out of the barrel like a small canon ball. The resulting bang echoed off the walls, causing those in the streets to stop and look into the bar, and those inside to dive under their tables.

Reiner knew that a flintlock had a delay between when the trigger was pulled and when the gunpowder ignited, and used that split second to move and leap over the bar. The bullet missed him and shattered the large mirror behind the counter. He ducked down, hearing another gun shot, and another. Between each round he heard the clicking of the pins as they were pulled back to place another bullet in the chamber of their rifles.

He looked over to the cowering bartender, and produced his own revolver. Conversation being useless over the roaring of the gunfire, he simply nodded as he showed him his gun. There was a short pause in the firing when the tree men had to collectively reload, and Reiner stood, aiming the chromed gun at one of the men who had moved closer to the bar and had the lack of common sense to take cover behind the smallest of the wooden tables. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet flew through the wood, resulting in a cry of pain from one of the gunmen when the bullet tore through his arm with a spray of blood. The flintlock fell to the floor, and the black powder poured out of the barrel before it could be packed in.

He smiled in satisfaction, and ducked behind the bar in time to dodge the next volley. After a second of small missiles sailing over the counter, the gunfire stopped. He raised his gun over the counter to fire off a single blind shot, and was greeted with two more volleys.

The bind shot was to test the theory that these men where poorly trained and too eager. The well trained bounty hunter was satisfied with the results. With a confident grin, Reiner reached into his coat for his pokeball, looking over at the bartender.

"I'll pay for the damages," he said as he threw the pokeball over the counter.

The capsule opened, and a brilliant white light illuminated the bleak bar, twisting and forming into the shape of a large animal. It finally coalesced, and revealed a stocky armour clad creature with four short legs and a large head covered in steel. The armoured creature lowered its head as it prepared to charge, a bullet pinging futilely off its head.

"Don't kill anyone, Dozer!" Reiner shouted over the gunfire that followed once the lairon took form.

Dozer closed his eyes, protecting them with his thick eyelids, and ran forward, crashing into one of the men and sending him through the large window. A shower of glass fell into the unpopulated street. When the reptilian pokemon had finished his charged, he looked to the other man, who shook as he feebly pointed his rifle at the steel-type.

He slowly backed up, tripping over a knocked over stool and landing painfully between the legs. Dozer let out a coarse growl before charging forward, sending the man and the stool against the closest wall, breaking the wood and rendering the man motionless.

Seeing the man hit the wall beside him, Reiner spun into a stand, keeping his revolver ready in case of any back up. The bar was quiet now, and he cautiously furrowed his brow as he scanned the foggy room. Everyone not in the fight had fled the bar turned battlefield.

With a slow breath, he turned and moved towards the unconscious man, placing his fingers over his neck for a pulse. He felt nothing, and frowned in frustration.

"Dammit, Dozer! I said don't kill them!" he shouted as he looked to the lairon, who lowered his body to the ground in shame. The bounty hunter pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he looked across the bar. Light poured in through the now broken window, catching off the drops of crimson that laid around the man he had shot.

The man with the flintlock was feebly attempting to reload his gun with one arm, fumbling with the powder and spilling more on the floor than he got into the barrel of the firearm. His hands were trembling, and he quietly and frantically mumbled to himself under rushed breaths. The blood that trickled down his arm spoke for itself, and Reiner concluded he would no longer be a threat.

The bounty hunter moved towards the man, and kicked the gun out of his hand. Eliciting a cry of fear from the wounded man. Reiner's gaze was full of pity for him, and straight with displeasure. With eyes dulling, he reached into his coat for another pokeball, glancing at him briefly before flicking the capsule open.

The light coalesced into a blue dog, with a yellow main that ran down his back and a ridge of hair that stood up on the top of his head. The manectric looked at his trainer.

Reiner gestured towards the broken window. "Another man outside," he said simply to his partner of inferior intelligence. "Watch." The manectric barked in confirmation and bounded out the window with an impressive speed. He heard the man groaning in pain, and yelping in surprise when the dog jumped over him.

He looked back at the man on the ground, who returned his stare with a terrified inclination. His wounded arm leaked blood, and it soaked into his white shirt. Reiner knelt down, his expression blank.

"You know..." he began. "It's not the bullet that infects the wound," he said as he tore off the sleeve and examined the wound with deep concentration. "It's the bacteria on the clothes that enter the wound through the force of the bullet." He reached into his coat again, this time producing a bandage. "If you go into a gunfight with no shirt, or a vest, you'd save antibiotics." He looked the man in the eye with a short pause. "Just some advise from one gunman to another."

There was a seething breath from the man, and he threw a punch with his good arm, connecting with Reiner's jaw. The bounty hunter's head flew to the side with the impact, and he was motionless for a moment before he slowly turned back to the injured man.

"Don't do that again," he said slowly, looking back to the wound. "I'm going to stop the bleed-"

He was cut off by the impact of the man's fist connecting beside his eye, and he slumped in the direction of the blow, falling onto his behind without grace. His eyes remained calm, and his dull glare met the now defiant man. With a sigh he slowly stood, standing over the man for a moment. He returned the bandages to their pocket.

"If that's how you want to do this..." he said coldly.

The man smiled in challenge at first, but his eyes widened when Reiner lifted his leg and drove it over the bullet wound. There was a cry of pain to accompany the loud thump of the impact as he was driven onto his back and his arm became pinned between the floor and the bounty hunter's boot.

"What do you know about Geuro Ameri?" Reiner growled as he pointed his revolver to his captive's head.

From beyond the broken window, he heard his manectric bark, and before he could turn to the alert, the bar became overrun.

The door flew open, and guards poured into the bar, surrounding Reiner and his now hostage. They brandished swords, crossbows, and one held a pokeball.

"Bounty hunter. Excuse me," he heard a gruff voice order from the door.

From behind the guards, the bulking figure of Rits shouldered his way through, glancing around at the shot up establishment. The larger bounty hunter folded his arms over his chest, growling in anger at his partner.

Reiner looked like hypnotized stantler, his mouth open and his eyes wide. He motionlessly glanced between the other man, and his now apparent captive. "He shot first," he said quickly, and removed his foot from the man's injury.

Rits quietly moved across the bar, his eyes gathering the information of the tarnished building. He looked at the broken mirror, the concave imprint of the wall where one of the gunmen had died on impact, and then back to Reiner.

"I thought you said you weren't going to destroy the place," he growled as he looked across the faces of the guards who had since eased.

Reiner shook his head. "I said I wasn't going to get drunk."

Rits groaned with disapproval and shook his head, looking again at the dead man, who's head had slumped over and revealed the large gaping wound as the result of the impact.

One of the guards stepped forward, raising his sword to the gun wielding bounty hunters. "Describe what happened here, and if you story is good we won't charge you with murder."

Reiner sighed and whistled for his manectric, who bounded over the broken window an dissolved into red light before he could touch the ground. He then pointed another pokeball at Dozer, who too dissolved into the capsule. There was a moment of pause as he looked at the wounded man.

"Not much to tell," he said despite his surroundings. "I came in here for a drink and these men opened fire. I was only defending myself, and this bartender," he said as he gestured towards the old man.

The man's face grew into a scowl, and he slammed his fist onto the counter. "You did more damage than they did!"

"Hey!" Reiner returned. "I-"

"Reiner," Rits said as he placed a firm hand on the shorter man's shoulder. "Let's go with them to the barracks and get this sorted. Do it by the books, background check, identification, et cetera. Maybe we can get out of this with some money left in our pockets after we've paid for the repairs of this place," he said as he squeezed Reiner's shoulder to a painful degree.

"Yes," Reiner replied through a wince. "That would be smart."

SC

Reiner sighed deeply, leaning back in the small wooden chair. His feet were rested on top of the table, and his arms were crossed over his chest. In his mind, he pouted over the confiscation of his gun and pokemon, the room was cold and dark, and he wished he had his companions. At least, he wished he had the ones who didn't look like they wanted to tear his head off.

"We're in a lot of shit for this one, Reiner," Rits growled as he glanced towards the two way mirror, feeling the eyes of guards on them. "I hope your story's good."

"Relax. The bartender told them I was defending myself. The worst we'll get is a fine."

"That's what I'm worried about. It's a few hundred bucks for a ride back to Hoenn, and this is the second job in a row where the bounty's going towards repairs," he said.

Reiner opened one eye, and looked to Rits, who's impatient gaze fixed itself on the reflective surface of the metal table. With a deep breath, he removed his boots from the table, and sat forward, sweeping the dust from his boot away with his forearm. He watched the small specs of sand fall in varies sizes, from clumps to individual grains.

"Doesn't matter what happens to us," he said calmly. "We get out of this town and what happens to the other shopkeepers? Or this town?" he reached into his pocket, frowning when he remembered his toothpicks had been confiscated.

"Misguided altruism," Rits replied quietly as he sat back and crossed his large arms.

"Penance," Reiner corrected.

The door opened, and a well dressed man in a wrinkleless black suit appeared, his red tie tucked neatly under his short sleeved blazer. His raven black hair was combed back, revealing a large forehead that stood above blue eyes. He looked at the two men from beneath his round glasses, and breathed out a single laugh. He closed the door and shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants, staring at the two bounty hunters with an amused inclination.

"Alfred "Rits" Heimer and Reiner Arvard Raza," he began as he stepped closer to the men. "It'll come to no surprise to you intelligent men that we managed to dig up some background information. We don't have phones, sure," he said with a laugh, then leaned against the back of the chair, peering into Reiner. "but you'd be surprised what connections and deduction can do." He stood back up, and began to slowly pace. "Four years serving in the Hoenn military, even serving with Lieutenant Richard Birch, the now esteemed Pokemon Professor of your glorified island, but you, Reiner. You are interesting. Your accent suggests growing up in Northern Hoenn am I correct?"

Reiner raised an eyebrow. "Yeah.. how did you pick that up?"

With a smug chuckle, the man finally took his seat in front of the two men. "Because of the fact that you served in the Fallarbor Militia as a teenager, and your time working for The Magmans."

Reiner's eyes shot wide, and his mouth opened as if to speak, but closed as he slumped back into his chair in defeat.

"Ok," Rits spoke up, noticing his partners paled complexion and and tightened jaw. "How did you get all this?"

The man took his finger with a sly grin. "Let me get some things out of the way, former serviceman. We also know that you two were part of the team that stormed the Petalburg Gym during that fiasco with the Gym Leader. That was a covert mission, so I'll assume you were special forces?"

"Yes," the large man replied, his face unchanging. "What does this have to do with what happened earlier?"

"Because it makes sense that you became bounty hunters after the war. You got used to the life, the danger. I'm sure your pockets are far from dire straits."

Rits shot an accusing glance at Reiner before looking back to the man's probing blue eyes. "We've been better."

"So I'm to assume I got everything correct?"

"Ok, I get it," Rits replied. "The smart young detective figured out the bounty hunters based on their backgrounds. Do you want a candy?"

"Actually. We want to make a deal."

Rits cocked and eyebrow, and Reiner's dedicated stare at the floor broke.

"Go on..." Rits said.

"It's no secret that Cherrygrove has seen better days. All because of one man. We've tried many times to catch him, but we're pretty sure he doesn't operate within the city itself. We figured out what was happening pretty quickly once we heard local business owners were turning up dead a week after they sold their business. The reason we haven't made any arrests or stormed any of his operations is because we knew it was a part of something larger. Now it's up to finding the ring leader."

"So... you put out a bounty?" Reiner asked.

The man shook his head. "No. The name Geuro Ameri came up anonymously. Someone hand wrote a bounty letter and nailed it to our front door. I guess a two hundred thousand dollar bounty is good enough to get the attention of even Hoenn's finest."

"Enough shit. What's the deal?" Rits pressed.

"We haven't made any moves, because we can't. All that ethics bull crap. You guys don't work by the book, and can use methods we can't. If you help us nab this guy, we'll add another fifty thousand to the bounty. That should be enough to get back home. Right fellas?"

Reiner raised his eyebrows, whistling at the large sum of money. "That's got my attention."

Rits placed his elbows on the table, and rubbed his hands. "How can you guys afford that promise? You're a small city on the frontier."

"Semantics," the man replied as he stood. "We never considered hiring bounty hunters, and that note was the best idea anyone has had against Geuro in a long time. Do you accept?"

"Of course" Reiner replied almost immediately.

"Good," the well dressed man replied as he moved for the door. "You two are free to go." He opened the door, but paused, turning around with his hand still placed firmly on the door. "By the way, you'll need to repay the damages. It's five thousand dollars," he said before closing the door behind him."

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence between the two, Reiner returned his ashamed stare to the floor, while Rits closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Dammit," Rits growled as his fists clenched. "If you kill the dough on this job I'm gonna kill you."

"We catch this man and we can pay for a hundred bars, trust me when I say I'll do anything in my power to preserve the reward. Now lets get out of here, I'm starving."

SC

The two men stepped out of the barracks, being greeted by the summer's warm embrace. Reiner threw his trench coat over his shoulder, opting to remain in his white collared shirt with his revolver and pokeballs fully exposed on their bandoleer.

"Reiner," Rits asked as the two walked down the street. "Why'd you take the deal so quickly? We're going after him anyways since we can't afford a ticket back home now."

Reiner popped a toothpick into his mouth, gazing at the populated plaza that was up the road. "We're bounty hunters. If they want to stretch the reward, then why would I say no? Two hundred fifty thousand could set us for a while. Maybe even a brief vacation in our home towns."

Rits laughed, patting the smaller man on the back. "Reiner, you're a son of a bitch, a pain in the ass, and the reason my blood pressure is so high, but I'll be damned if I'm not right there beside you on your death bed."

"Please, I can smell the tauros shit from here." Reiner passively dismissed, taking in a deep breath and grimacing. "Or maybe that's just the town itself."

"Yeah, not sure I can hold my appetite much long-" Rits began to reply, but was cut short when he heard a loud bang resonate from deeper within the city, followed by frantic screams and pandemonium.

Reiner spun in the direction on the shot, his eyes wide. He reached for one of the pokeballs slung over his chest, and threw it to the ground, revealing his manectric. "Lunch's delayed," he said before running in the direction of the commotion.

Rits followed, his own pokeball in hand.

* * *

****Please R&amp;R and tell me what you think. I'm pretty much winging this one, so the deal with the police may not make much sense. I'll admit that much. ****


End file.
